conversation about north korea without talking about the two americans being held prisoner, merrill newman and ken bae. can you talk about that? >> it's a very painstaking process, and i think rule number one is not to talk about it too much in public except to state the obvious. that they ought to be released immediately. but i am sure, i have no doubt, that the u.s. government is doing what it can to get these people released, but the more they talk about it publicly, probably the more difficult it is. i recall very well the iranian situation where we had these three hikers who were caught for no apparent reason, and what these issues often descend to is the internal politics of the country in which they're being held captive. and so the more we say publicly, the more that can be used by which ever side. so i think it's important to work quietly behind the scenes and i suspect we're doing that. and i do hope the chinese are stepping up in this regard. >> ambassador christopher hill, thank you so much. >> thank you. >>> when we come back, two weeks ago, he was receiving the highest hohigh